Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Compare & Contrast

Among the most poisonous provisions is one that would give state and local police agencies authority to enforce federal immigration laws. Police departments big and small have bristled at the idea, saying they lack the expertise and the resources to enforce immigration law. They say it would cripple crime fighting by severing hard-won relationships with potential victims and witnesses: immigrants who will end up fearing and avoiding them.

Counties across the United States are starting put into place immigration enforcement policies allowing them to detain and start deportation proceedings for illegal aliens that they arrest. The latest is Davidson County in Tennessee where Sheriff Daron Hall has filed a formal request with the Department of Homeland Security to start using the Delegation of Authority Program from the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1996.

This allows local law enforcement to screen if someone is illegal and start deportation without having to rely on Federal authorities.

Sheriff Hall is not alone as the Department of Homeland Security has a large pile of requests from counties across the country.

Davidson County is currently in a mandatory 30-day assessment period, which the Department of Homeland Security imposed upon its receipt of Hall’s letter on Aug. 31.

Eager to streamline Davidson County’s entry into the program, Hall has said he will call the Department of Homeland Security “on day 31.”